Social Impact and Community Investment | RWJBarnabas Health

Social Impact and Community Investment | RWJBarnabas Health
80% of All Health Outcomes
are Due to Socioeconomic, Behavioral, and Environmental Factors
When people cannot afford food, heat or housing, it significantly affects their health.
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New Jersey is one of the wealthiest states in the nation, yet
nearly one million of our neighbors go to bed hungry.
Gun violence affects nearly 900 individuals
every year in New Jersey.
Every sixty minutes, seven people in America die from violence-related injuries.
1 in 10
NJ Residents are hungry
New Jersey is the third wealthiest state in the nation and is home to 8.9 million residents, yet 1 in 10 of its residents is hungry and more than 8,500 are homeless.
Why RWJBarnabas Health?
Social Impact
Social Impact and Community Investment
Social Impact and Community Investment in Action, RWJBH Corporate Anchor
Roundtable Report
The RWJBarnabas Health Social Impact & Community Investment practice
(SICI) leverages RWJBarnabas Health’s broad range of assets to advance
a culture of health and improve the quality of life for communities throughout
New Jersey. The Social Impact & Community Investment practice is rooted
in ensuring health equity, by advancing strategic policy change, combined
with evidence based and innovative programs that address the social, economic,
and environmental conditions that have a significant impact on health
outcomes. The Social Impact & Community Investment practice at RWJBarnabas
Health also serves as a driver of the system’s anchor mission to
Hire Local, Buy Local, and Invest Local.
Once a quarter, the Social Impact & Community Investment practice co-chairs
a Corporate Anchor Roundtable (CAR) meeting with RWJBarnabas Health President
and Chief Executive Officer Mark Manigan. During the meeting, asset leaders
and internal stakeholders lead discussions to highlight the successful
implementation of our anchor mission (Hire Local, Buy Local, Invest Local)
and review the opportunities and challenges surrounding further adoption
of initiatives that address the social determinants of health.
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Did You Know?
Socioeconomic, behavioral, and environmental factors affect 80% of all
health outcomes. Social determinants such as diet, exercise, stress, sleep
habits, housing quality, job status, personal safety and transportation,
all play a role in our wellness.
39
%
New Jerseyans
cannot meet their
basic needs
23
%
of households struggle with overcrowding, high housing costs, or lack of kitchen or plumbing facilities
10.3
%
New Jerseyans are food
insecure
The RWJBarnabas Health Response
RWJBarnabas Health is committed to being in and of the communities we serve.
In order to meet our goal to create healthier communities, we reach beyond
the doors of our facilities to not only treat disease, but to help avert
it. With the goal to improve health outcomes, promote health equity, and
eliminate health care disparities, RWJBH has developed a strategy to proactively
address the clinical and social factors that affect health outcomes.
Focused on five key pillars, the System meets its social impact goals by
effectively serving as an anchor institution in the communities it serves,
the System commits to “
Hire Local, Buy Local, Invest Local
”. This means that we will:
We will use our purchasing power, and facilitate inclusive, local sourcing,
to create and scale opportunities for our local communities to build wealth
We will create good jobs and clear career paths inside and outside our
organization for members of our local communities
We will use our financial investments to lift up our local communities
and neighborhoods, tackling their key social determinants of health such
as education, access to healthy food, affordable housing, and safe living
and neighborhood environment.
The five pillars—Economic Stability, Education, Employee Engagement
& Volunteerism, Global Health, and Neighborhood and Built Environment,
are strategically addressed through the co-design of evidence-based strategies
with key local, state, and national partners. RWJBH understands that in
order to create strong, healthy, and sustainable communities, we have
to re-engineer and transform current systems. We want to ensure that all
individuals across the region and the State can achieve better health
outcomes. By working to affect policies and streamline practices, we can
exponentially scale our impact, helping our communities today and into
the future.
Find out more about each of our pillars, our approach to the work, and
our successes:
Learn more about Education
Learn more about Food Insecurity
Learn more about Global Health
Learn more about Housing
Watch videos about how RWJBarnabas Health is making an impact in the community.
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Buy Local. Hire Local. Invest Local.
Learn More
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Feb 10, 2026
RWJBarnabas Health Welcomes U.S. Senator Andy Kim and Lt. Governor Dr. Dale Caldwell for Visit
Feb 9, 2026
NJ General Assembly Speaker Coughlin & Rutgers President Tate Tour RWJBarnabas Health Food Programs
Feb 9, 2026
U.S. Senator Cory Booker Visits RWJBarnabas Health’s Farm to Community Center Space in Newark
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